Originally Posted by
jdhowland
... Ng ... knew ... many and taught some of them. When the Hong Kong White Crane Athletic Federation came up with 24 standardized sets they were trying to preserve a good portion of this material, but it was still too much for today's students. I see their work as more of a conservation effort for historical purposes than a workable system.
... There is a huge disparity in the number of sets taught among various "Lama" schools, from none to thirty-plus. The approach you take depends on your values. I understand the desire to preserve an art as well as the need to pare it down for practical use.
When we asked my teacher ... reply, "He teaches sets." This didn't sound like a put-down but seemed to imply that the man was not considered a fighter.